SHAWNEE, Okla. — Already with a regular season title under their belt, Southern Nazarene added one more to their long list of accolades this season, defeating Harding in the GAC Tournament Championship game 57-46, making it their second tournament title in three years.
Tabbing in as the No. 1 seed from a then 24-4 overall record and a 21-1 conference record, the Storm (27-4, 21-1 GAC) handled business all the way through, knocking off two tough opponents in the quarter and semifinals matchups to work their way to another championship final appearance. As most expected and anticipated, the No. 2 seed Lady Bisons (25-7,19-3 GAC) fought their way to the title game as they have done five times previously within a 12-season period, winning the title in both 2015 and 2017.
Southern Nazarene decided it was their turn to add a second title to their list of honors, battling hard with Harding through the first 10 minutes to then pull away in the remaining three quarters for the ultimate 57-46 victory.
The Storm showed up on both ends right from opening tip, holding Harding to a low 28% shooting clip while putting up a 44% clip of their own. Southern Nazarene also buried five threes to the Bisons one while scoring 36 points in the paint, courtesy of the performance by Tournament MVP Hannah Giddey who was unstoppable from the inside.
As most expected, the two best teams in the GAC went at it the the first 10 minutes with Harding holding the slim one-point lead at 15-14 at the end of the first.
SNU caught fire in the second quarter, exploding for an 11-0 run at the six-minute mark to earn a nine-point lead. Harding got a few buckets to fall in the final minutes, cutting the Storm's lead down to five at halftime, 34-29.
The Bisons made it a one-point game two minutes into the second half, but SNU quickly turned things around, stringing together a 13-0 run to set Harding back by 14 points at 47-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Harding fought back to cut the deficit to nine four minutes into the fourth, but SNU continued to stretch the lead, bucket by bucket. The Storm were able to reach a 15-point advantage at the halfway point, inching closer and closer to the title win. Through the final minutes, Harding tried to chip away at SNU's lead, but the Storm's dominance kept them ahead until the final buzzer sounded. For just the second time in the DII era, Southern Nazarene was crowned GAC Tournament Champions with a final win of 57-46.
SNU's star forward Hannah Giddey was awarded Tournament MVP for her stellar performance on both ends of the floor, averaging 20.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.3 blocks in the three wins. Giddey led the game with 24 points, also grabbing seven boards and four blocks. Her 24 points recorded a season high.
Georgia Adams was the other Storm starter to put up double-figure scoring with 12, also pulling down six boards. Adams also earned herself a spot on the All-Tournament team, going 4-4 from the three point line against the Bisons. Cassandra Awatt was the other member to join Giddey and Adams on the All-Tournament team, scoring eight points while pulling down double digit rebounds with 10.
With the title win, SNU has earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships. The location and their first round opponent will be decided during the NCAA selection show streaming on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m.
